Buscar en este blog

viernes, 22 de julio de 2011

Myths and legends from Sonora: The Devil Does a Good Deed

.

THE DEVIL DOES A GOOD DEED

.

Folk story from the State of Sonora

.

One
evening, while having dinner with don
Evaristo and doña Almanda, I asked
our guest if he knew any stories from the state of Sonora. “You see, Emily and
I are planning to drive to Sonora for the holidays,” I said.

.“Now,
let me think,” don Evaristo said and
thought for a while. “Ah, yes. I’ve just thought of a good one. ‘The Devil Does
a Good Deed’, it’s called.”

.“The
Devil.” said Emily, “Are you going to frighten us?”

.“Not
quite. This story is about an old lady named Eulogia, who lived all alone on a
small ranch, in a forgotten corner in the middle of the Sonora desert. Eulogia
had very few visitors. Maybe once or twice a year, a muleteer would take a
wrong turning and come across the ranch by accident. And these chance visits
were the only times Eulogia received any news from the outside world.” Don Evaristo began.

.“Her
husband had been a member of an infamous gang of bandits, feared throughout the
territory. After one particularly dangerous raid against federal troops, the
leader of the gang presented Eulogia’s husband with a dramatic painting of a
devil. This was his way of thanking Eulogia’s husband for saving his life
during the bitter encounter. Though he was not at all happy about the subject
of the painting, Eulogia’s husband could not, of course, refuse a gift from his
leader and friend. That day, when he arrived home, he placed the picture behind
a door, and there it stayed. Even after his death, the picture stayed there; being
one of the few things he left his solitary wife to remember him by.

.

“Now,
when our story begins, Eulogia was still in good health, though advanced in
years. She still kept her own house and did her own housework, and, whenever
she went through the door on which the strange painting hung, she used to say, ‘Poor
thing! You never see the face of God, do you?’ Then she would take a cloth and
gently sweep off the dust from the painting. This daily ritual repeated itself,
day after day and year after year. After her husband’s death, she even moved
the painting closer to her room, so she would not forget to dust it off.

.“All
flesh is weak, and so it happened that, strong as she was, one day Eulogia fell
ill. Now very old indeed and all alone in the desert, she made up her herbal
remedies and tried to take care of herself the best she could. But it was all
to no avail. As each day passed, she grew weaker and weaker, until finally, she
just lay motionless on bed, unable to move a finger.

.“When
the devil in the painting saw her sad condition, he materialized, came out of
the picture and approached Eulogia’s bed. She knew very well that death was
near. ‘Good-bye, old friend,’ she said to the devil. When the devil heard this,
he rushed out of the house as fast as he could and ran and ran down the lonely
desert road towards the nearest town.

.“Once in
town, he rushed inside the first church he came to. When the priest saw the
devil, he recoiled in horror. ‘What do you want of me?’ he demanded, in a rage.
‘I just want you to come with me and give the last rites to someone who is
dying,’ replied the devil.

.“The
priest found very hard to believe the devil’s words, but the idea of saving a
poor soul seemed more important to him than any devil’s trickery. So, he agreed
to go with the devil, but not without carefully packing a holy cross, holy
water, incense and all the materials he needed for the sacrament..

“Priest
and devil together hitched the horses to a carriage and hurried off back to
Eulogia’s ranch. When they arrived, they found the old lady smiling tranquilly.
‘I’ve just seen a beautiful lady dressed all in white,’ she whispered. ‘She was
coming down a long tunnel to meet me and little children with wings were flying
all around her.’.

“The
priest then gave the old lady confession, and soon after, Eulogia passed away
peacefully, and well accompanied. .

“Moments
later, the priest asked the devil to leave, but first he remembered to thank
him for his good deed. Before they parted, the holy man said to the devil, ‘Tell
me, what made you want to save a soul? Why on earth did you do a good deed? Is
this a devil’s work?’.

‘Well,
you know, that woman was extraordinarily kind to me. She even saved me from my
prison in the picture! Besides, I already have her husband’s soul,’ the devil
smiled and vanished. The priest, for his part, went back to the town and to all
his priestly duties..

“When
the authorities and gravediggers came to bury the old lady, they found a
strange painting beside her. A painting of a silhouette – the outline of a
figure, where the devil’s form had once been...”.

“How
strange, that the devil should do such a kind thing!” Emily exclaimed. “I can’t
believe it.”.

“Neither
can I, but who knows? Maybe even bad spirits can do good deeds, from time to
time.” Don Evaristo laughed. “And it’s
only a story, Emily!”.

- - - - - -

Folk story
originally published in the English textbook Orbit 3. By Homero Adame, Pat Grounds and Carol Lethaby. Ediciones
Castillo, S.A. de C.V. Monterrey, Mexico. 2000. Pp. 206-207.